How to save your HoloBuilder project offline in the HoloViewer

Archiving and downloading allows for more options to flexibly manage and share your projects.

Written by Sahil Tadwalkar Updated over a week ago

Archiving and downloading is only available for the all unlimited Collaboration plan. Any other plans are not allowed to archive and download projects. Upgrade now to the Collaboration plan to get access to this feature.

1 Project archive

Completed projects can be archived to free up square feet for new projects. Any archived project cannot be edited anymore as long as it is archived. To continue editing a project, it needs to be unarchived. Please note that to unarchive a project, you need the given amount of square feet of your project available in your account. If you do not have sufficient square feet, you can either upgrade your subscription to increase your total number of square feet or archive another project.

Only archived projects can be downloaded to be viewed offline. Once a project was downloaded, it cannot be unarchived anymore. Learn more about downloading your projects below.

1.1 Archive project

You can archive any of your own projects. To archive a project, go to your My Projects‘ list in the web editor. Click on the archiving symbol next to the corresponding project to move it to the project archive. The project will then disappear from your My Projects list and appear in the Archive list.

Viewing projects

Archived projects cannot be viewed anymore in the web player with a shared link by your collaborators or any external viewers. Also, viewers, as well as editors, will not be able to access the project from the Shared With Me project list in the editor anymore. Only you as the creator can access and view any archived project in your Archive project list or with a link when logged in.

Editing projects

It is not possible for you or any collaborative editors to continue editing a project after archiving. Archived projects need to be unarchived so that you can make any changes to the project.

Deleting projects

To delete a project, you first need to archive it. Click on the archiving symbol next to the corresponding project and switch to the Archive. Next to the download button you will find the trash bin icon to remove your project completely from your available online projects.

1.2 Unarchive project

Archived projects are stored in your Archive project list and can be unarchived anytime, e.g. for making any additional changes before downloading the project and finishing it up completely. To unarchive an archived project, click on the unarchive symbol next to the corresponding project from the archived project list.

Unarchived projects will return to your My Projects list. Any collaborators will be able to then continue editing the unarchived project as usual. To unarchive a project, you need sufficient square feet available. If you do not have enough free square feet to unarchive the project, you can either upgrade your subscription to increase your total number of square feet or archive another project instead.

Archived projects can be downloaded to be shared and viewed offline. The downloaded project cannot be unarchived anymore.

2 Download project

Download projects to share, view and store offline. The downloaded project can be viewed with the Offline HoloViewer, our dedicated desktop app for Windows – 32-Bit or 64-Bit – or macOS. Download the viewer and the project as one or download them separately to get offline access to additional projects.

Once a project was downloaded, it cannot be unarchived or edited anymore. Furthermore, any shared links will become inactive and the project will become inaccessible online for anyone with the link. Only you, as the creator, will be able to view the downloaded project online when logged in. Already downloaded projects are marked with the greyed out ‘unarchive’ and ‘download’ symbol.

If you accidentally downloaded a project, please write us at support@holobuilder.com for gaining online access again.

2.1 Downloading projects

Depending on whether you are downloading HoloBuilder projects to the computer in use the first time or have already have downloaded projects to this computer, you need to install the Offline HoloViewer.

2.1.1 First time downloading a project to this computer & installing the app

To download a project, the project needs to be archived. In the Archive list, click on the download button next to the project you want to make available offline.

On Windows

The system will automatically check if you already have the Offline HoloViewer app installed when starting the download of a project. If this is the first time you are downloading a project on this computer and no installed app was detected, the system will initiate to first install the correct Offline HoloViewer app for your Windows system before downloading the project. Follow the instructions provided in the web editor to complete the installation of the app and download the project.

On macOS

We generally recommend using Google Chrome with HoloBuilder for the best possible experience. To download an archived project in Google Chrome from your HoloBuilder account, click on the download button next to the project you want to make available offline. If asked, confirm that you want to open the HoloViewer.app to start the download of the HoloViewer_Installer.dmg. Allow your browser to keep the downloaded installer file and click on it in the download bar of your browser or double click in your Download folder to Download folder to mount the DMG image. When the HoloViewer_Installer.dmg is mounted and a window with its content is showing up, drag the HoloViewer.app to your Applications folder and open it from there.

Please note that, if you are using Safari or Firefox as a browser, the system cannot detect whether the app is already installed due to browser restrictions. When asked whether you have already installed the app, please select NO. After the HoloViewer offline app was successfully installed, you can start the download for your project in the popup by clicking the button.

If you have any problem or questions regarding the downloading of your projects and/or the HoloViewer, please do not hesitate to reach out at support@holobuilder.com.

2.1.2 Downloading additional projects without installing the app

If you already have the Offline HoloViewer app installed on your computer, the project download will start directly when clicking on the download button next to your archived project. When asked, click to view the project in the HoloViewer app and the project will open directly on your desktop.

Please note that, if you are using Safari or Firefox as a browser, the system cannot detect whether the app is already installed automatically. When asked whether you have already installed the app, please select YES. The project download will now start.

2.2 Downloading only the Offline HoloViewer app

To view shared downloaded projects, you can download and install our dedicated Offline HoloViewer desktop app. The app is available for Windows – 32-Bit or 64-Bit – or macOS. Simply install the correct app to your desktop and you are ready to download and view your finished projects offline. Learn more about downloading the HoloViewer app here.

2.2.1 Uninstalling the Offline HoloViewer

The HoloViewer offline app can be easily uninstalled without losing your downloaded projects. The project data can be stored independently from the app.

On Windows

Open the folder HoloViewer and select the unins000.exe to uninstall the app. Only the app will be uninstalled, all projects will stay safely on your hard drive. To remove the app with all projects, select the HoloViewer folder and delete it after uninstalling the app.

On macOS

Simply drag the HoloViewer.app folder into the trash and empty your trash to remove the app from your computer. Please note that when uninstalling the app like this, all projects will stay safely on your hard drive. You can find them in the folder called “Projects” at the following location: ~/Library/Application Support/com.holobuilder.holoviewer/Holobuilder

To keep a backup of your downloaded projects, please just copy the Projects folder from the folder mentioned above and store a copy somewhere safe on your hard drive or a USB thumb drive.

2.2.2 Updating the Offline HoloViewer

New versions of the Offline HoloViewer app with general improvements and possible new features will be released on a regular basis. You can decide on when to upgrade your offline app and manually download the upgrade, there will be no automatic upgrade at this point.

Please note that, in order to keep your downloaded projects save and viewable, we recommend making a backup of the complete app folder including the currently used Offline HoloViewer app .exe as well as all projects. Simply locate the Offline HoloViewer app folder (on the desktop) and copy the complete folder. Paste the folder anywhere on your hard drive to keep as a backup.

On Windows & macOS

After making the backup of your Offline HoloViewer app folder, go to the Offline HoloViewer download page and select the correct app version for your system. Click to download and follow the instructions for installation as the first time.

2.2.3 Recovering a previous app version

You can easily recover an old version of the Offline HoloViewer app if a backup was made. Always make sure to keep a copy of the complete HoloViewer app folder for backup before updating or uninstalling the app.

Alternatively, you can find the previous Offline HoloViewer versions on the download page. In the download section select ‘Previous version’ for your operating system and start the download.

On Windows

Copy the complete HoloViewer folder with the app version you want to use to your desktop. When downloading new projects, the app will be recognized by the system and the newly downloaded projects will be added to the contained project list.

Copy the HoloViewer.app version you want to use to your Applications folder and double click it there to start it. When downloading new projects, the app will be recognized by the system and the newly downloaded projects will be added to the contained project list.

2.3 Downloaded projects

Any downloaded projects will be saved on your computer’s hard drive and can be viewed with the HoloViewer. As soon as you have downloaded a project, it is not possible to unarchive and continue to edit the project.

Downloaded projects are saved in the HoloViewer folder. The HoloViewer folder can be stored anywhere on your computer during the installation process. Each downloaded projects are stored as folders in […]>HoloViewer>Holobuilder>Projects (Windows) or ~/Library/Application Support/com.holobuilder.holoviewer/Holobuilder (macOS) with the corresponding ID.

3 Offline use

The app can be started either with the installed desktop shortcut or in the HoloViewer folder with the HoloViewer.exe. Also, the app can be opened automatically when downloading another project.

3.1 Viewing projects offline

When you have the HoloViewer installed and one or more HoloBuilder projects downloaded, you can directly access your projects to view offline. Double-click the shortcut on your desktop to open the HoloViewer app. If you do not have the shortcut on your desktop installed, navigate to the HoloViewer folder and double-click the HoloViewer.exe.

Click the project from the project list to open. The project opens offline in the HoloViewer, no internet connection is required. Navigate through the project as usual by dragging the scene, switching between waypoints on the sheet and traveling through time with Time Travel.

3.2 Project handover

You can hand over your downloaded project with or without the HoloViewer. Copy the project folder or the complete HoloViewer folder to a thumb drive, e.g. on a USB flash drive, for others to get access. If you only transfer the project, please note that the recipient has to install the Holoviewer (either for Windows – 32-Bit or 64-Bit – or macOS) to be able to view the project.

On Windows

Go to […]>HoloViewer>Holobuilder>Projects or click on the question mark in the menu bar when looking at a project in the HoloViewer to open the Projects folder. All your projects are located in the Projects sub-folder. Each of your projects is labeled with its specific project ID.

To hand over both, the project and the HoloViewer software, transfer the entire folder named HoloViewer to the thumb drive and make sure that your project(s) is in the HoloViewer sub-folder Projects. The recipient will be able to view all projects that are contained in this folder. To only give the recipient access to a single project or only selected projects, copy the entire HoloViewer folder and remove all project folders in the Projects sub-folder that the recipient is not supposed to get access to.

If the recipient already has the HoloViewer installed, you can also simply share the required project folder. Locate the correct project folder in the Projects sub-folder and copy a single or multiple project folders to a thumb drive or zip it and share it through, e.g., a cloud service of your choice as well as email.

On macOS

To hand over both, the project and the HoloViewer software, first transfer the HoloViewer.app from your Applications folder to the thumb drive. At next, open the HoloViewer.app and click on the question mark in the menu bar when looking at a project in the HoloViewer.app. A Finder window opens up and shows you the content of ~/Library/Application Support/com.holobuilder.holoviewer/Holobuilder. All your projects are located in the Projects sub-folder. Please copy this Projects folder to your thumb drive as well.

The recipient will be able to view all projects that are contained in this folder when he opens the HoloViewer.app on his Mac, selects File -> Open Project and selects the according .holo-File in the Project folder with the ID of the corresponding HoloBuilder project. To only give the recipient access to a single project or only selected projects, remove all project folders in the Projects folder on your thumb drive that the recipient is not supposed to get access to.

If the recipient already has the HoloViewer installed, you can also simply share the required project folder. Open the HoloViewer.app and click on the question mark in the menu bar when looking at a project in the HoloViewer.app. A Finder window opens up and shows you the content of ~/Library/Application Support/com.holobuilder.holoviewer/Holobuilder. Locate the correct project folder in the Projects sub-folder. Copy a single or multiple project folders to a thumb drive or zip it and share it through, e.g., a cloud service of your choice.

3.3 Longterm storing of projects

All downloaded projects can be stored digitally indefinitely on your local drive or any other hard drive. To keep access to your projects, you simply need a version of the HoloViewer installed or the installation file at hand.